Moscow Confirms Effective Evaluation of Nuclear-Powered Burevestnik Missile

Moscow has trialed the atomic-propelled Burevestnik strategic weapon, as stated by the state's leading commander.

"We have conducted a extended flight of a nuclear-powered missile and it traversed a 8,700-mile distance, which is not the maximum," Senior Military Leader Valery Gerasimov reported to the head of state in a broadcast conference.

The terrain-hugging advanced armament, originally disclosed in the past decade, has been hailed as having a potentially unlimited range and the ability to avoid missile defences.

Foreign specialists have earlier expressed skepticism over the projectile's tactical importance and Russian claims of having effectively trialed it.

The president said that a "final successful test" of the missile had been conducted in last year, but the statement could not be independently verified. Of over a dozen recorded evaluations, just two instances had limited accomplishment since the mid-2010s, as per an non-proliferation organization.

Gen Gerasimov stated the projectile was in the air for a significant duration during the trial on 21 October.

He noted the weapon's altitude and course adjustments were assessed and were found to be up to specification, according to a domestic media outlet.

"Consequently, it exhibited superior performance to evade missile and air defence systems," the news agency stated the commander as saying.

The projectile's application has been the focus of intense debate in military and defence circles since it was first announced in the past decade.

A previous study by a US Air Force intelligence center determined: "A reactor-driven long-range projectile would offer Moscow a unique weapon with worldwide reach potential."

Yet, as an international strategic institute noted the corresponding time, Russia encounters considerable difficulties in making the weapon viable.

"Its induction into the nation's stockpile likely depends not only on resolving the significant development hurdle of securing the reliable performance of the reactor drive mechanism," analysts noted.

"There have been several flawed evaluations, and an incident leading to multiple fatalities."

A armed forces periodical referenced in the report asserts the missile has a operational radius of between a substantial span, allowing "the projectile to be stationed across the country and still be able to reach goals in the United States mainland."

The same journal also notes the projectile can fly as at minimal altitude as 164 to 328 feet above the surface, rendering it challenging for aerial protection systems to stop.

The weapon, code-named an operational name by a Western alliance, is thought to be propelled by a reactor system, which is designed to activate after initial propulsion units have launched it into the sky.

An examination by a reporting service recently pinpointed a location 295 miles above the capital as the possible firing point of the weapon.

Employing orbital photographs from August 2024, an expert told the service he had identified several deployment sites under construction at the facility.

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